In a significant legal decision, the Mixed Jury Court of Appeal in Athens has pronounced its verdict in the case surrounding the tragic death of Zak Kostopoulos. The incident, which occurred in September 2018, resulted in the sentencing of two defendants involved in the fatal altercation.
The court handed down a 6-year prison sentence to the real estate agent implicated in the case, while the jeweler received a 5-year term.
The sentencing included considerations for mitigating circumstances, with the jeweler, aged 80, being placed under house arrest due to his advanced age, while the real estate agent is to serve time in prison.
Greece shocked by defendants’ testimonies over Zak Kostopoulos’ death
The courtroom atmosphere was tense as the verdict was delivered, with emotional outbursts and cries of “murderers, go to hell” echoing through the halls.
Zak Kostopoulos’ mother, visibly moved, expressed relief at the court’s decision, affirming that for many Greeks, “they will always be murderers”.
Zak’s mother and brother stood in the middle of the courtroom, embracing and crying. “My Zakaria, they are guilty,” said his mother
“We live in a country where most of us have to settle for less. Less justice, less salary, less health. So I am very glad that the word ‘guilty’ was heard for these two murderers. In the memory of a large part of the Greek people, they will always be guilty and murderers,” noted Zak Kostopoulos’ mother.
“The decision, in the part that unanimously found the defendants guilty, was correct. We believe it errs in the part that granted mitigating circumstances to the defendants and on a problematic legal basis, which I believe will be reviewed legally by the Supreme Court,” stated Annie Paparousou, the lawyer for the Kostopoulos family further hinting at potential legal challenges to the verdict.
Prosecutor Stellios Kostarelos, maintaining a strong stance, proposed that no mitigating circumstances be recognised for the two defendants, arguing that the jeweler trapped Zak Kostopoulos and beat him with fury amidst broken glass, while he could have avoided trapping him in the store.
Regarding the real estate agent, the prosecutor referred, among other things, to the statements made by this particular defendant in his testimony, noting: “It is in no way credible that he was hitting out of altruistic motives. There was no inappropriate behaviour against him from the victim.”
Two men jailed in Greece for the death of LGBTQ activist Zak Kostopoulos
The case has sparked widespread public interest and raised pertinent questions about justice and the application of mitigating factors in criminal proceedings in Greece.
